Full movie description "Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Big Switch":

Chicago, 1920: Gangster Sam Dunleavy has just returned to town, and is visited by Al, a former childhood friend who is now a police officer. Al knows that Sam's girlfriend has just dropped him, and he warns Sam not to try anything violent. But Sam does plan to kill his ex-girlfriend, and he knows he needs an alibi. He sees his friend Barney, who promises to give him a perfect alibi for $2500. They work out the details, and Sam returns to Barney's place later to put the plan into action. But Al also shows up, so Sam knows that the plan must work perfectly.

Reviews of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Big Switch

Okay episode, at best. Sam (Mathews) loves his cat and birdie, but he's no soft-hearted pushover. Instead, he's a brawny tough guy who's going to teach his two-timing girl friend (Michaels) a thing or two about slow and painful death. Too bad for her sake she's not a kitty or a birdie. But first he needs an airtight alibi since the cops watch him like hawks. So he arranges one for a hefty fee with a nightclub crook. Now what can go wrong. Being Hitchcock, we know something will and with an ironic chuckle.

The story's okay even if the upshot seems more contrived than usual. Actually, the cast is the real draw. The Runyonesque Mathews is always a colorful character with his fractured grammar of "deese" and "dem", along with a face that looks like ten miles of bad road. Then there's Beverly Michaels on leave from one of Hugo Haas's sleazy bad movies. Together, they're like a marquee team from Guys and Dolls. And catch James Edwards in a small bartending role. He was one of the first African-Americans to get dignified roles, even before Sidney Poitier. His lead role in 1949's Home of the Brave was a landmark shattering of Black stereotypes. Too bad his role here is not bigger. All in all, it's a colorful half hour, even if not top rank.